This article was first published in the Ute Insiders newslett er . Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.
Nate Johnson's football journey has been a long and winding one that has taken him from Clovis, California, to Salt Lake City to Nashville,Tennessee, and back to Utah.
In between, he's done a little bit of everything on offense — playing quarterback, running back and wide receiver.
Johnson was first recruited to Utah as a quarterback, learning behind Cam Rising in the 2022 season. Utah's coaches made use of his unique speed at various points in a freshman season that saw him score two rushing touchdowns and throw another.
With Rising out for 2023, Johnson and Bryson Barnes split reps at quarterback — with Barnes getting the majority of them — to start the season in a win over Florida. The next week, Johnson helped lead a fourth-quarter comeback in a win against Baylor and became the team's new starter.
After struggling against UCLA and Oregon State, Utah rolled with Barnes for the rest of the season, though Johnson did have a 59-yard touchdown run against Arizona State after the game was well in hand.
Utah Utes quarterback Nate Johnson runs the ball for a touchdown during the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News
Following the conclusion of the season, Johnson knew that if he wanted to see time at quarterback in college, he would have to transfer, and elected to head east to Vanderbilt.
With the emergence of quarterback Diego Pavia , playing time was limited for Johnson, but Vanderbilt's coaches got him on the field as a running back, where he had 114 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
"It was fun. I mean, shoot, being able to play multiple positions and excel at multiple positions, I mean, it was fun. Obviously last year, you got a little hint of it. That just made me learn to just keep going."
When Johnson re-entered the transfer portal following the 2024 campaign, he told coaches he was willing to play wherever he could — and that's exactly how Utah utilized him.
The original plan was to use him both at wide receiver and running back, but practice inconsistency at the receiver position led Utah to mostly play him at running back. The bulk of those snaps came with positive results, especially in a 59-yard rushing performance against Cal Poly.
A fumble against Wyoming saw Kyle Whittingham pull back from handing the ball off to Johnson, but by October, he was back in the groove. He had a 56-yard touchdown run against Colorado and tallied 33 yards against Kansas State and 27 against Baylor. Johnson even had a 16-yard reception against the Wildcats.
"It was fun. I mean, shoot, being able to play multiple positions and excel at multiple positions, I mean, it was fun. Obviously last year, you got a little hint of it. That just made me learn to just keep going," Johnson said.
Under new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, Johnson's role has shifted more to the receiver room, and the early returns from spring camp have been promising.
In a meeting with McGiven this offseason, Utah's OC highlighted Johnson's speed and how that could be used on the field.
"Really just telling me to just use your speed, use my 10.3 speed is what they always tell me every single day. Just use your 10.3 speed, use your God-given gift, and they always tell me nobody could run with you," Johnson said. "Just having coach McGiven here and him just giving me that chance, giving me that opportunity to just go out there and show what I can do. It's going to be a good year with coach McGiven."
Utah's Nate Johnson, left, in action during spring camp in Salt Lake City, on Thursday, April 9, 2026. | Anna Fuder, Utah Athletics
Even in a room with experienced players like Braden Pegan and Kyri Shoels, Johnson has consistently stood out during media viewing sessions. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior is looking the part of a receiver, from his footwork to his hands, and has been consistently winning battles against cornerbacks.
One catch, which featured a nice move from Johnson to gain separation and good foot control to stay inbounds when hauling in a pass near the sideline, was especially impressive.
"Every day he's getting better. Just the more routes, the more opportunities he gets, the better he's playing. So I'm very, very pleased with Nate," receivers coach Chad Bumphis said. "Love how he competes, love his attitude, love having him in that room, being able to coach him."
Johnson has been building chemistry with quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin since winter workouts, finding time away from practice to build that connection, which is paying off.
Being a former quarterback has also helped, not just with knowing what is going on inside Dampier's and Ficklin's mind, but in being able to read a defense.
"He runs good routes and he understands space" Bumphis said. "He understands what the quarterback should see so he's able to find that zone just a little bit faster."
While he has the physical tools, especially the speed, one of the biggest catalysts from Johnson's improvement as a wide receiver has been his mindset.
"Really just buying into the culture. I mean, obviously last year I was inconsistent and had just switched to receiver, still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the position," Johnson said. "Just the different mind change from last year to this year, I think that's where I made the most progress was the mind change and just buying into the culture and just buying into our coaches as well."
"Man, anything. Put me anywhere on the field, get the ball in my hands, good things are going to happen."
The growth that Johnson has shown in developing into a true wide receiver has been evident to coach Morgan Scalley.
"That's another guy that's fully bought into being a wide receiver that's making play after play. He was really inconsistent last year in terms of catching the ball, in terms of doing the things that I think he was asked to do in terms of finishing routes and being a hand catcher," Scalley said. "All that stuff, he has fully bought in.
"(Receivers coach Chad Bumphis) has done a heck of a job with him. To Nate's credit, what a great mindset he's coming to this offseason with, and he's seeing the benefits of it."
Time will tell how much Johnson will be used in game situations this fall, but this spring, he has proven that he belongs and is a legitimate weapon in the passing game.
"Man, anything. Put me anywhere on the field, get the ball in my hands, good things are going to happen," Johnson said. "That's obviously going to have to be earned by coach McGiven. I got to earn their trust, got to earn coach Bump's trust as well to have them trust me with the ball in my hand and also got to earn the trust from coach Scalley because he's evaluating everybody on the offensive side."
Utah Utes quarterback Nate Johnson (13) plays during the season opener at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News
In the transfer portal era, Byrd Ficklin is an anomaly. Ficklin, his dad and Morgan Scalley weigh in on what kept the Ute QB in Salt Lake City this offseason.
